


Style Out of Style (Summer Chemistry)

by TheLittleGirlFromSokovia



Series: Stranger Things Imagines [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Could Be Canon, F/F, First Kiss, I HATE using Y/N so I used just a ton of pronouns, Kinda in that gray area right before season three, One Shot, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Friendship, Scoops Ahoy, Steve Harrington Is a Good Bro, Wingman Steve Harrington, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 10:10:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21074540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLittleGirlFromSokovia/pseuds/TheLittleGirlFromSokovia
Summary: It is 1985, after all. So, Robin never told you. Told you how her favorite thing about you was that you loved her. And Robin loved you. What kind of love? That may never be known. At least until you decide to make that first move. And, believe it or not, it all starts with summer Chemistry class.





	Style Out of Style (Summer Chemistry)

Robin Buckley likes girls.

Not an opinion. Not a thought. Not a presumption. A fact.

And there are _way _too many people that wouldn’t like that. So, she never told you. She never told you that she loves how you rake your hand through your long blonde hair when you are anxious. How she loves when your green eyes sparkle when you mention something you love. Or how they turn darker when you try to defend your love of beanies to kids in 1985. How she is extremely fond of the fact that you always come to her. With thoughts. With feelings. And she most loved the fact that you loved her, and she loved you. In what way you loved her, she would probably never know. And she would never tell you how she loved you.

So, when you came into Scoops Ahoy after a long day, black beanie slouching over the back of your head, hair in a messy braid perched over your left shoulder, strands of hair hanging in front of your eyes, Robin was more sure about the fact that she loved you than anything else. You had your back pack on your left shoulder, the other strap hanging uselessly behind your back. You were holding a book in your right hand, as you tromped up the front counter in your combat boots and jeans. You had a gray sweater on, with a black tank top. Your style was hardly…well, in style for 1985, but you never once let anyone criticize you. Robin…was obsessed. She was aware.

But, you had some alluring qualities that simply kept Robin near. Kept her obsessed. Kept her looking at you until she felt the need to look away for fear of being noticed…of being seen – exposed. And whether you had any idea how she felt, Robin didn’t know. So she never decided to tell you. Even mention or insinuate it really. Because even if Robin couldn’t have all of you, she had you. She knew for a fact that you would be at Scoops at 4pm every Wednesday, and that you would be at Robin’s house every Saturday afternoon. She knew that you would be okay with it if she laid on your lap, or read your short stories and poetry. She knew that you would never abandon her.

And if you knew how she truly felt, Robin was afraid it would all come crumbling down.

And so, on that day when you walked into Scoops, Robin had that same internal conversation that she always had with herself when she saw you looking like this. That she can’t keep thinking of you like this, and that she can’t let it show. But today was different.

You walked up to her, smiling, and had asked her if she wanted to come to your place tonight to help her with studying. You said your summer Chemistry class made absolutely no sense, and that if Robin helped you, you were sure you could at least _pass _the class. You also said that you missed hanging out more because of Robin’s summer job, and that you missed her. Of course, Robin, with an emotional hurricane occurring inside her malfunctioning brain, said yes.

Robin also never chose to admit the fact that she didn’t even know you were taking summer Chemistry.

So you had Robin get you your usual order – Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough with EXTRA Sprinkles - and you kept telling her that there were not enough sprinkles, making her laugh with how many ended up on the cone. You talked with Robin, and she listened. There weren’t many customers that day (minus Erica Sinclair), so you got her all to yourself for a few hours. Robin enjoyed your company, but she always had that underlying feeling of anger. Angry at herself for loving you. Angry at you for not loving her in the way she wanted you to (even though she had no evidence of that). And, of course, angry at the world for not letting her tell you how she really felt.

But Robin was a little presumptuous, in the sense that she thought, but really had no idea, how you felt about her.

You loved Robin’s laugh. It was infectious, and pure. It made you smile so wide that sometimes you would forget that she could see you staring at her. You loved her hair, how it circled her heart-shaped face, and how it swung around into her eyes when she laughed too hard. You even loved her lame Scoops Ahoy uniform, how the hat sat on her head, how the skirt hung loosely around her waist, and how much she hated it. You loved…everything about Robin. And you were lonely. You wanted her to notice you as…more than just a friend who likes too many sprinkles on her ice cream.

So you decided to invite her to your house. Robin had only been to your house a handful of times, even though you went to hers all the time. And you just wanted…Robin to yourself. And you know that you have that all the time, but its different when its your house, and you’re with your Robin. Well, not yours in the way you want, but it was good enough. For now.

Because Robin had no idea that you didn’t take summer Chemistry.

* * * * *

You reluctantly left Scoops, saying goodbye to Robin, and headed home. Robin was internally freaking out. So she did the only logical thing to do. She called Steve Harrington.

“She asked me to come to her house tonight. Alone.”

“Okay…and you like her?”

“A lot. Like, too much. I’m scared.”

“Don’t be scared, Robin. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Well dingus, you aren’t going to your crush’s house at night, alone, and having a mental breakdown.”

“Relax, you’re not having a mental breakdown.”

“Stop negating everything I say!”

“Robin, have you ever thought of just…telling her how you feel?”

“Never.”

“See, now that might be your problem.”

“Steve. If I tell her and she doesn’t like me back it could ruin our…whole friendship.”

“And if you don’t, you could ruin yourself. You’re crazy for this girl. C’mon Robin.”

“C’mon Robin?! There is no “c’mon Robin” Steve. I can’t do it.”

“Well, you could just wait for her to make the first move.”

“…”

“See, you never thought of that, now did you.”

“Well there are no moves to make if she doesn’t even like me like that.”

“Robin, you are stressing me out. Why would she invite you to her house at night in the middle of the summer?”

“Studying.”

“_Summer_, Robin.”

“I know, but she’s taking summer Chemistry.”

“That is the biggest piece of bullshit I have ever heard.”

“Steve…”

“Robin. Tell this girl how you feel, and soon. I’m hanging up now before you can find another reason to change your mind, love ya, have fun, be safe and all that, bye dingus!”

“Steve!”

The phone went dead.

“Dammit, Harrington.”

Robin didn’t feel any better about her situation…if anything, she felt more afraid. Robin wanted to tell you how she felt…she did. So why wasn’t she doing it? Well, she kept trying to justify not doing it. She didn’t want to destroy your friendship. She didn’t want to come out to you. She really was only out to Steve, and he hadn’t told anyone. Telling more than one person would make it more…real. The risks really outweighed the benefits. But…she loved you. So, she told herself that she would “assess” the situation and decide then. She told herself that. Whether that task would actually be carried out by her was yet to be seen.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, you were at home, waiting for Robin. Of course you had lied about Chemistry, but you didn’t want her to back out of hanging out. Your dad was out of town, so you had the house to yourself. And yeah, you were selfish for lying to Robin and wanting her all to yourself. But come on. It was Robin. It was Robin Buckley. And you were, like, totally in love with her.

So you anxiously awaited her arrival, changing the clothes you had on earlier. You were now in jean shorts, a white t-shirt, and a gray sweatshirt. Your hair you kept the same, and your beanie still sat on your head. You tugged at loose seams on your sweatshirt, looking down at your bare feet. You had no idea how you had gotten to this point. How your love for Robin had bounced around in your heart for so long, before expanding. It spread out from your heart, weaving around nerves, around bones, settling into every spot in your body. When your hand moved, you wished Robin could be holding it. When your legs moved, you wished Robin was leaning against them, like she did when she sat on the floor reading while you sat in a chair writing. When your eyes opened, you wished they could open to Robin’s smiling face. You were done for. Overcome with love for this girl. And, yeah. You felt like an angsty teenager talking about this, but it was true. You were head over combat boots for Robin Buckley.

You reached up and snatched the beanie off your head, throwing it across the room in frustration. And that was about the time when you heard the doorbell ring.

You scrambled to get off the counter so fast that you nearly fell on your face. You ended up in a sort of Spider-man landing position, but it was good enough. You sped to the door, took a breath, fixed your hair, then put your hand around the doorknob.

* * * * *

Robin stood outside, fingers drumming rhythmically on her left thigh. She was afraid. Like, afraid, afraid. After her conversation with Steve, she told herself that she would tell you how she felt. Whether she would actually go through with that, she wasn’t sure. No, she was sure. Sure it would never happen. Like she had thought earlier, she knew the risks outweighed the benefits. If you did like her back, she would get the one thing in the world she wanted. If you rejected her, no matter how politely, she could lose you – and herself - _forever_.

So, after giving herself a little pessimist pep-talk, she walked up to your door and rang the doorbell.

You swung open the door, nearly hitting yourself in the face in the process.

But that was all fine, because you open the door to Robin’s smiling face. She’s holding her typical crossbody satchel, and she’s out of her Scoops uniform. Her hair is in a messy bun, and she has one hand holding the strap, the other giving you an awkward wave. A jean jacket rests on her shoulders, over an orange t-shirt, and jean shorts hug her hips. If you wanted to know what Robin Buckley was really like, this outfit was pretty much it. Pretty much, her.

So, you are freaking out.

But, you pull it together.

“Hey Robin! Wanna come in? Well, of course you want to come in, I mean I actually invited you here so that was a stupid question, but –“

Robin coughs to cut you off, and thank god she does, because you think you might’ve rambled forever.

“Yeah? Yup? Rambling, right. Got it. Come in.”

Not super suave, but you think you did pretty well for having your brain in a blender.

Robin, meanwhile, was many, many emotions at once. She was suspicious, because number one, there was nobody in the house, and number two, you were acting extremely out of character. You never tripped over words. Maybe sometimes, but not like this. She was also nervous, because even though she had told herself that she wouldn’t be revealing her true feelings tonight, her heart desperately needed to get them out. She was also unreasonably angry with you. For not having the feelings she wanted you to have. And yeah, she hadn’t exactly asked you per se, but she just…knew that happiness for a person like her was just…impossible in this time.

You walked into the house behind her, watching her slowly notice that nobody was home.

“My dad’s out of town, business stuff I guess.”

“Yeah…”

Robin seemed…distracted, for some reason.

You took her hand and pulled her up the stairs. You both trotted up them until you were in your room. Robin placed her satchel on the floor by your bedroom door, and slid her jacket off, throwing it on your bed.

“Well, I think it would be best to tell you now that I lied about Chemistry.”

Robin chuckles. A wonderful sound, you think.

“Yeah, I know. Er, well I didn’t think you were, but Steve bet that you were. Why, I don’t know.”

“Not totally dumb, Harrington. Well, I just didn’t want to be alone, I guess? I don’t know. I didn’t want you to find some reason not to come.”

Robin walked closer to you and put her hands on both of your shoulders.

“I don’t know what you think of me, but I wouldn’t do that, especially to you.”  
  
“Yeah, I know. That’s why you are my best friend.”

Robin smiled softly, then her smile disappeared. She looked sad.

You weren’t sure why, but you did know that you really, really wanted to kiss her.

But you didn’t, because you couldn’t do that to her.

“Is that an old-school record player?”  
  


Robin let her hands fall from your shoulders, much to your dismay.

She walks slowly to the other side of the room, her hand grazing over a vinyl sitting on the record player. You do not know what type of moment you just had, you just know that you desperately want it to happen again. You do not know why Robin turned sad and pulled away, you just know that you were just happier than you have been in a long time. You do not know if Robin loves you in the way you want her to, you just know that you definitely love her in that way.

Your brain is working way too fast for you to process, and Robin is still waiting for an answer from you.

“Oh, um, yeah. Yeah, it’s a little retro, I know. I just really like them I guess.”

Robin sat on the floor, thumbing a shelf of old vinyl records. You giggled at the sight. Robin looked up at you and stuck her tongue out. You stuck your tongue out in response, trotting over only to plop down next to her. You both laughed. Little did either of you know what the other was thinking, because they were the same thought.

** _“I’m in love with her.”_ **

* * * * *

After a long night of vinyl, ice cream, laughing, and unusually long staring sessions, it was getting late.

“I should probably head home soon.”

Robin said this with a sigh.

“You could sleepover if you want.”

You said it casually, but it wasn’t really you saying it. The shrug of the shoulders, the crossed arms, the laid-back voice. It was definitely not how you would approach Robin with the proposal of a sleepover. But it happened. And Robin didn’t say a word. But, then again, neither did you.

“I…don’t think that would be a good idea.”

The words were out of Robin’s mouth before she could even process them. The breath she was holding came out with those words – her secret practically revealed. And your breath was let out in a stuttering exhale. You…were pretty sure that that was what you heard – but you had to be sure.

“Why, Robin?”

And that was it. The hit or miss. The fight or flight. Whatever obscure metaphor you preferred, this was Robin’s decision. The decision. And Robin thought…what the hell.

And it all came out.

“Because…I don’t think I could survive that long…alone with you.”  
  


That breath you let out? Doesn’t matter. You are now holding one like you are in a cave underwater, waiting to be saved. Waiting to be able to come to the surface. Waiting to be let out. But right now, there is only one thing you are focused on, breathing be damned. Robin.

“I never…had the heart to tell you.”

And now you think Robin might be going somewhere else with this statement. Does she secretly hate you? Did you do something wrong? Oh god, what did you do wrong? So, you do what you never thought you would. You decide to let it all out, before the underwater cave of your heart runs out of air.

“Robin.”

Robin stops speaking, she looks like she is on the verge of tears.

  
“Robin, I don’t know where you’re going with this, but I want- I need to tell you something before you say anything else.”

Robin stops moving. And now, it looks like she feels like she’s in an underwater cave too. An underwater cave of the heart. And you don’t want her to feel like you do. You hope she doesn’t. But…you just can’t wait any longer. You want to be free. You want Robin to know…and the risks can go to hell.

So, before Robin can say anything, before you can think this though enough, before anything really, you move closer to Robin.

You press your forehead to hers gently. You’re faces are incredibly close, and your heart has never felt more **_alive_**.

And that’s when the whisper comes.

“Can I kiss you?”

It doesn’t matter who said it. Because, Robin leans forward. Your lips meet. You make a little sound when her lips meet yours, and you can feel her smile against your lips. Forget skips a beat, you think your heart stops.

And you actually think Robin feels like that too.

And for once in your entire life, you feel _free_.

Robin pulls away, but not far. Just far enough to utter the words,

“So, how was that ‘_Chemistry_’ study session?”

**Author's Note:**

> So, I hope you liked it :) Sorry if I included too many details about the person themself (blonde hair, green eyes, etc) but I REALLY didnt want to use Y/N and I wanted to detail the character and I didnt want to give the character a name so *incoherent frustration* Anyway, thanks for not scrolling :)


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